Christmas - The Early Years

The first Christmas I can remember is one when I was very small.  The reason that I remember it so well is because I have scars on my left hand to remind me of it.  Mother told me that I reached for a bulb and it broke in my hand and cut my third finger deeply and burned it as well.  She kept my hand bandaged until it healed, but it still left a scar.

Daddy would always cut our Christmas tree on our farm.  Often he would find the perfect tree while he was out hunting and remember where it was.  Mother always liked to have ground pine to decorate with and Daddy would bring that home in his hunting jacket to her to use.  He would also bring home mountain laurel, pine boughs, hemlock boughs, and red berries to fill the plant boxes.  We always tried to do the plant boxes before they froze, that way the greens would stay nice all winter long.  We would hang an assortment of evergreen boughs on the doors tied with a red ribbon.  In the kitchen there was a special wreath that was placed at the kitchen window.  It had an electric candle in it, I always thought it was really special, as the wreath was a red velvet material, of course over the years it faded, but it was still a favorite of mine.  Perhaps that is where I got my love of candles in the windows.

In the living room, on the piano, sat a plastic "Frosty the Snowman" with a bubble light in his hand. Mother bought it the year that I started school in 1948. It was another favorite of mine.  I still have it and it is the first decoration that I put out every year.
 

Our Christmas tree was usually placed in the little living room in the early years, as that is where we spent our time.  We didn't go into the big living room until after we got television.  Our little living room was a cozy room, off of the kitchen with a day bed up against one wall, the console radio, Daddy's gray leather chair, a green upholstered chair with wooden arms (that I now have), a rocking chair, and smoking stand.  The room was carpeted with a deep red flowered carpet.  We later got a piano and it was placed in this room.  Jerry and I used the piano bench to play our board games on. The room was well lit with an overhead light and the end tables had lamps as well.  I also remember a light on the wall.  This room had a huge walk in closet and we kept our games, card table and chairs in it.  This was the only closet there was in the house, so Mother and Daddy kept their good clothes in there also.

Our Christmas tree was usually long needled eastern pine decorated with colored electric light bulbs and glass ornaments that were made by Corning Glass Company in Wellsboro, PA.  I still have several of them.  Krista has several that her Grandpa Bryant gave to her that were made at the Wellsboro Plant, a treasure!  We used icicles to complete the decorations.  It was a sight to behold that first night to come into the living room after supper and sit there and look at that beautiful tree with all of the lights turned off.  Sometimes Jerry and I would make snowflakes to put on the tree or to make red and green paper garland to add to the tree too.

We were allowed to open one package on Christmas Eve which was always handmade flannel pajamas.  We would go take a bath, put on our new pajamas, go to bed and wait for Santa.  We could never go into see what Santa had brought until Daddy came back from taking the milk to the milk plant and had his breakfast. Jerry and I thought he ate the biggest breakfast of his life on Christmas!!

Kathy and Connie Hazelton

After all the packages were opened, it was soon time to go to Grandpa and Grandma Gerow's house.  All of the Gerow family would meet there for Christmas dinner and to exchange presents.  This was one of the very few times that we were allowed to go into the Parlor.  They would have a tree decorated very similar to our tree.  Grandpa would cut his tree in his woods.  The picture that I have included is one that shows Connie Hazelton and me in front of the tree. I think it was taken in 1950.  The adults would exchange names; however, they would buy for all of the kids.  Aunt Eloise was a school teacher and she would often times buy me a book and that always delighted me, as I loved to read as a very young age.  Mother often read to Jerry and me.

It's terrible, but I don't remember any really great Christmas, I usually got a doll, which is what I always wanted, and later a typewriter. More than anything I remember all of the preparation to get ready for the holiday and all of the fun things we did.  Mother always made sea foam candy, fudge, and cookies of all kinds.

  We went Christmas caroling, had parties, but the best was the Sunday school program.  We practiced for the whole month of December and I loved it.  Fred Smith was my Sunday school teacher and he was in charge of the program.  We did plays, learned poems and acted out the Nativity. Everyone in the neighborhood was involved in our church and what a wonderful time it was.  My Mother played the piano accompaniment for all of the songs that were sung, so she was busy learning her part too, but she loved it as much as we did.

Daddy played Santa one year.  Jerry and I didn't even know it!  Every parent brought a present for their own children which Santa passed out along with a box of hard candy with a chocolate drop in the top for everyone.  That was a real treat!  That box of candy served as cough drops for the whole winter, Mother always put her box away as she knew someone would need it later and she would be right.